I Love My Man (Nicole's Erotic Romance) by Sabrina Lacey Page B

liking it. Laura looks like she wants to
climb into a cave.
    “Thank you. Now would you please take your
wife home and make violent love to her for at least a week?” They both react. I
shake my head. “It looks like she needs it.” I don’t wait for their reactions
as I turn away.
    Mark takes my outstretched hand and kisses
it. He leans down and whispers in my ear, “Now you know it’s a party.”
    I laugh as we walk. “All we need now is for
someone to pass out drunk on the lawn.”
    “And for blood to be shed. A fight, you’ve
gotta have a fight. Oh, one of the investors just arrived. I want you to meet
him.” He squeezes my hand, eyes lighting up with excitement.
    “Oh, I almost forgot about them.” At his
look, I add, “Sorry! So much has happened!”
    He laughs. “Very true.”
    “Well at least the worst is over.”
    Never Say The Worst Is Over

 
 
 
    Looking toward the door, I’m blown away by
who I see. David, of all the people on Earth, has strolled into the gallery and
is walking from painting to painting.
    “Oh no.” I search the room frantically. What
is he doing here? I have to warn Jess. I spot her and realize I’m too late; she’s
clawing her way through the crowd to get to him with murder in her eyes. I pull
on Mark’s hand. “Walk faster! Come on!”
    “What’s your hurry?”
    “It’s Jess’s ex-boyfriend who cheated on
her!”
    I watch as dickhead David turns and
unexpectedly sees Jess. His jaw unhinges in shock. From the look on her face,
she’s going to make Mark’s wish for bloodshed come true. I can’t let this
happen! I let go of Mark’s hand, pull up my long dress to run and take off to
intercept her.
    She beats me to him, her voice piercing hot.
“What are you doing here? Stop following me, you crazy stalker!”
    He’s completely taken aback. “I’m not
following you, Jess!”
    She fumes. “Oh really? We’ve run into each
other three times David. Now four! And you’re telling me there’ll all just an
accident. I know I fell for your lies once but I’m not stupid twice!”
    I force a smile, but it ain’t pretty. “Everything
okay?”
    He turns to me in shock. “Nicole. Shit. Wow.”
He looks around and sees Amber and Josh. He thinks nothing of the guy who’s
looking at him like he’s an asshole. He’s never met Chris, so why would he? But
he knows he’s completely ambushed. We all know what he did. We were all friends
with this asshole, once upon a time. He’s looking at the jury and everyone on
it knows he’s guilty.
    Mark arrives behind me. He scans our faces
and says, “Hi Dave.”
    Dickhead looks at him. “Hi Mark.”
    I’m completely lost. Confusion slams into
Jess. She stutters as she asks Mark, “How do you know David?”  
    Mark doesn’t want to say it, but he has to. “Dave’s
meeting me here to see Nicole’s paintings.”
    “What?!!” Appalled, I throw up a thumb
toward Dickhead. “ He’s the investor?”
    Jess struggles hard to understand. “What
investor? What’s going on?”
    Mark gently tells her, “For my app idea. The
one I told you about?”
    Poor Jess flushes beet-red and mumbles,
“Oh.” She looks at David. “You’re not following me?”
      “No.
Not that you’re not worth stalking.” She sneers at him. He smiles, amused. The
cocky bastard, I never liked him. “You know I’m in finance, Jess. My firm and I
are in negotiations to work with Mark on his idea. He gave me the gallery name
and the address, but I didn’t hear who the painter was. These are yours,
Nicole?”
    I nod, sucking in my lips and thinking of
what to say. Mark is clearly disappointed. He narrowly escaped Jessica’s recent
wrath and this new discovery does not bode well for his project.
    In an awkward, strange, and very human
moment, Josh and Amber limp up, saying “hey.” David shoves his hands in his
pockets and has the good sense to look insecure as he greets them. We all used
to spend time – a lot of time – with David. He